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| LETTER TO EDITOR |
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| Year : 2019 | Volume
: 17
| Issue : 3 | Page : 91 |
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Train-related accidents at the railway station
Kundavaram Paul Prabhakar Abhilash, Gudivada John Pradeep, GT Jemy
Department of Emergency Medicine, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
| Date of Submission | 17-Jul-2019 |
| Date of Acceptance | 01-Aug-2019 |
| Date of Web Publication | 26-Sep-2019 |
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Kundavaram Paul Prabhakar Abhilash
Department of Emergency Medicine, Christian Medical College, Vellore - 632 004, Tamil Nadu
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/cmi.cmi_20_19
How to cite this article:
Abhilash KP, Pradeep GJ, Jemy G T. Train-related accidents at the railway station. Curr Med Issues 2019;17:91 |
Dear Editor,
Tamil Nadu state has one of the highest numbers of road traffic accidents in the country. This burden of trauma is further compounded by a significant number of accidents in the trains and at the railway station. However, very little data exist on this mode of trauma. A few studies from the west show the grievous nature and incidents of trauma related to trains and at the railway crossings.[1],[2] Hence, we describe a cohort of patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) of Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, in 2018. Data were extracted from the triage registry software of the ED.
During the study period, 27 patients with train-related injuries presented to our ED. The patient characteristics are shown in [Table 1]. There was a male predominance (85.1%). The mean age was 39 (standard deviation: 11) years. The common modes of injuries sustained were while getting down from the train (13/27: 48.1%), while traveling in a train (9/27: 33.3%), while crossing the railway track (3/27:11.1%), and while standing on the platform (1/27:3.7%). Triage priority 1 patients comprised 25.9%. Three patients presented with Glasgow coma scale of 3/15. After ED resuscitation, 66.6% (18/27) were discharged stable by the ED, 25.9% (7/27) required hospital admission, and 7.4% (2/27) left against medical advice.
This study highlights the need for improving safety during travel and on the platform. This may include health education and structural changes on the platforms. In addition, there exists an urgent need to provide first aid service at the railway station itself, an initiative already taken up by CMC, Vellore, at Katpadi Railway Station. The need of the hour is establishing such first aid services at most major railway stations across the country.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| References | |  |
| 1. | Virdee J, Pafitanis G, Alamouti R, Brohi K, Patel H. Mind the gap: 11 years of train-related injuries at the Royal London Hospital major trauma centre. Ann R Coll Surg Engl 2018;100:520-8.  |
| 2. | Evans AW, Hughes P. Traverses, delays and fatalities at railway level crossings in Great Britain. Accid Anal Prev 2019;129:66-75. |
[Table 1]
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